


Veiltail Heart

by SpicyReyes



Category: One Piece
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fix-It, Gen, M/M, Multi, fishman!Luffy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-18
Updated: 2020-03-18
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:46:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,517
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23193409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpicyReyes/pseuds/SpicyReyes
Summary: "Well, he was human when we arrested him," the marine said."Then, why is it," his commander replied, "That he's a fishman, now?""It's the sea stuff," the fishman chimed in. "It's got ocean magic and all, right?""It's salt," the crew member with him, that orange-haired thief girl, said, sounding as though this was an old argument. "Not magic. It's seastone. It's got sea salt, Luffy.""Luffy?" the commander echoed."Straw Hat" Luffy...was afishman?
Relationships: Monkey D. Luffy/Trafalgar D. Water Law
Comments: 19
Kudos: 176
Collections: Identity Crisis





	Veiltail Heart

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Unsinkable](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14793995) by [RikoJasmine](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RikoJasmine/pseuds/RikoJasmine). 



> me with the one piece aus  
> i have no excuse for this one either  
> lawlu because im weak but it will be a while before we get there obv  
> maybe some other ships??? as they come up???  
> i have so few solid plans and so many general ideas so here's the first step down another rabbit hole im about to die down
> 
> the fix it tag is because one piece makes me ugly cry and im gonna try not to ugly cry too much while writing...so assume all the lads are making it out alive okay

A boy lurked at the edge of the sea, watching the soft blue rolling waves. 

This was a battleground, between him and the force of the earth. He would conquer this, first here, then everywhere - he would stand above this power, no matter what. 

He  _ would,  _ he would learn to best it, and then he would show himself to be the strongest there had ever been. 

All it took was his first step. One little push-..!

“Luffy!” 

The boy jerked back from the edge of the water, reeling. He wasn’t allowed to go into the water, he knew - his plan would have to wait until there was no risk of being dragged back in by his ears. 

Later, then. 

Later, he would conquer the sea.

  
  
  


The second Higuma threw him from the ship, Luffy felt a shock of pure terror down his spine. 

_ I can’t swim,  _ he thought.  _ Even if I’d learned - the Gum-Gum Fruit would have taken the ability away! _

He’d never been underwater. Never once. His grandfather had many odd rules for him, but one of the chiefest among them was that he was to be watched around water. Never, ever, not even once, was he to submerge himself fully in water. His body and his head were washed separately, always, never both staying wet at the same time. 

The second he broke the water, he knew why: it  _ ached.  _

With the rush of water closing around him, he felt his skin begin to burn, his bones aching, the salt water stinging him like poison. 

He opened his mouth, and a scream came out, rippling the water in front of his face. Above him, his vision of the surface disrupted, the looming shadow of a ship starting to rock in front of his eyes. 

As his screaming stopped, Luffy realized something else: in his agony, and his fear, he was heaving breaths, gasping and sighing in quick pants. His breath wasn’t hindered by the sea at all - instead, he felt different, like the sea water was filling something that was usually left empty, like taking a breath after holding it too long. 

_ I’m not drowning.  _

Light broke the surface of the sea, sparkling against the waves, creating a rainbow along the ripples.

_ It’s...so pretty.... _

He was sinking, he could feel it, the light growing dimmer, but he didn’t feel any fear. 

_ It’s nice down here, actually… _

Then, in the water around him, he felt a vibration. The water grew warmer, a tension seizing his chest. 

Words came to him, but he couldn’t tell from where - there was no proper sound under the water, his ears heard only the dull roar of the ocean against his eardrums, but he felt as if they were someone else speaking, still. 

_ A hatchling cries… _ It murmured.  _ No children of the sea find this place. From where was the guppy dragged?  _

Luffy looked around, searching for the speaker. The water was dark, with how far down he’d gone - it was so hard to  _ see -  _ …

No. No, that was not the ocean, keeping him blind.

It was a shadow. 

His eyes raised, slow and terrified, to take in the sight before him: a sea king, for certain, by size alone if nothing else. 

It was watching him, at a distance, eyes glowing a vicious red, pupils slits like a cat’s. 

His body no longer ached, but neither would it respond. Fear shot through him, gripping him tight, and he could do nothing but stare at the long white teeth showing in the creature’s open mouth. 

_ He’s going to eat me,  _ Luffy thought. Panicking, he slammed his eyes shut, drawing himself into a ball, terrified of the pain that was surely to come-

-And then something warm and solid crashed into his back, wrapping itself around him, and surged upward, breaking through the sea around them. 

The second Luffy broke the surface of the water, his skin began to burn again, and he cried out in a mix of terror and pain, gripping down hard on his savior. 

“Luffy!” Shanks’ familiar voice barked to him. “You’re safe. I’ve got you.” 

The water around them shifted, rocking like the waves in a storm, moving wild. Luffy felt it push against him, and felt Shanks’ arm pin him closer to the man’s side, the other lashing out in the opposite direction, where the sea king had broken the surface as well, lunging their way. 

“STOP!” 

To his astonishment, the sea king stilled in the water, teeth bared, head held high and eyes furious.

It looked down, catching Luffy’s eye, and they watched each other a long second. 

“Luffy-...” Shanks tried to say, but at the same time, the sea king opened his mouth wide, letting out a roar.

_ He’s angry,  _ Luffy realized. He felt like he was listening to someone yell from the other side of a wall - the words lost in the muffle, but the tone carrying through. Unlike under the water, he had no words for what the sea king was saying - but that was most certainly what it was.

It was speaking to him. 

“I-...!” Luff drew himself up as best he could, supporting himself against Shanks’ shoulder. “I won’t let you hurt him! He saved me!” 

The sea king’s head tipped back, roar becoming almost a shriek-...and then abruptly cut off, the beast going completely still. 

“S-sea king?!” Luffy yelled up to it, terrified.

The beast swayed slightly in its place, side to side - and then crashed down sideways, sending waves in all directions with a terrible splash, sending a wave crashing over Shanks and Luffy’s heads. 

The water brought a fresh wave of stinging to Luffy’s cheeks, but he had other things on his mind, first. 

“The sea king!” Luffy yelled, straining against Shanks’ hold. “It’s hurt!”

“It’s not!” Shanks told him, refusing to let go. “It’s just unconscious. It’s an ability of mine. It didn’t hurt it, I promise.” 

“He came for me!” Luffy shouted, putting it together at the same time he said it aloud. “He heard me scream. He thought I was hurt! He thought you were a bad guy!”

“He wanted to  _ help  _ you?” Shanks asked. “Luffy, sea kings aren’t friendly! Even if you are-..!”

He cut off. Luffy stilled, whipping his head around to look at the pirate.

“What?” he demanded. “What am I?” Heart pounding in his chest, he asked, “Why did my skin burn? Why can I breathe under the water? I thought I would die!”

“I thought you would, too,” Shanks said. “But I guess your granddad kept some interesting secrets.” He turned to the side, shifting Luffy slightly. “It’s not the best mirror, but...look at the surface of the water, kid. To your reflection...what do you see?” 

Confused, Luffy stared at him a moment longer, before following his gesture, eyes landing on the now-calm surface of the water. 

The colors of the ocean mistified, whispering to him of the peace he’d found beneath the waves...but, on the surface, he could see eyes, shaped almost like his own.

The whites of them were not reflecting. Instead, his eyes looked pitch black. Dark shadows likewise fell across most of his face, blending with the color of the water at the edges, turning a rich royal blue.

“I can only see my outline!” Luffy said. “I look all black and blue there.” 

“Luffy…” Shanks said. “That’s your reflection.”

Luffy stilled. 

His reflection? That was...what he looked like?

He raised his hand, bringing it to his cheek, and felt a new texture beneath his fingers. His hand, too, reflected odd, and he brought it in front of his eyes to examine it. His arm was coated in small, shining blue scales, fading into black around his wrist, the scales fading into a flatter skin like the kind on his face. His hands, too, were black, with something like a silken fan flowing between the fingers and with some distance off the sides. Orange and red shone in the skirt of it, the surface pearlescent. 

“I-...!” 

“You’re a fishman,” Shanks confirmed. 

Luffy turned wide eyes on him. “How?!” he asked. “I was a human! Just a little while ago! I’m human, aren’t I?”

“Clearly not,” Shanks said. “This is a question for your granddad, definitely.” 

Luffy watched his hands. Water shone on the surface of the skin and scales, keeping them shining. Part of him called to sink them back beneath the water, return to the ocean, feel that peace on him again-...

...But he wasn’t a fish, and as far as he knew, he wasn’t a fish- _ man,  _ either. 

Fanned fingers curled in, forming tricolored fists. 

He needed to talk to his grandad.  _ Immediately.  _

  
  
  
  


“A betta fish-woman?” Shanks echoed. 

“Mmhm,” Garp confirmed. “I think she might’ve had some human in her, though...That, or Luffy’s father was so human, it overpowered everything else! As long as he stays on dry land, he’s perfectly normal. Look at him!” 

Both men turned their attention on the young boy, who in turn, watched his hands. They’d long since lost both their scales and their fans, the colors and textures slowly retreating, leaving his usual human shape in place. 

“Regular water irritates it a little,” Garp said. “Fully submerge him in clean, warm water, and his fins’ll start coming out. He’s got these fan-like ones, that come off his arms and his back. You saw those?”

“Yeah,” Shanks said. “His hands and feet, too.”

“Eh,” Garp said. “Must be salt water. You said scales, too, yeah? Definitely a salt water thing...Baths never did that to him. I never let him go into the ocean, so I had no idea what the sea would do to him.” He reached up, rubbing his chin. “Learned a few other things, though. He’s sensitive to types of water...It’s better for him to use washcloths than to submerge in a bath straight away if he’s properly filthy, because too much contact with dirty water makes him sick. Cold water, too - brings his gills out right away, but if they’re above water, it’s like he forgets how to breathe with his mouth. Or, at least, he did when he was a kid - he choked a good couple of times before I figured it out, so he bathes in warm water, these days.” 

“And you’ve hid this this whole time?” Shanks asked. “You didn’t think he should know?”

“What difference does it make?” Garp asked, with a shrug, gesturing to Luffy. “He was living a life as a human fine until  _ you  _ got him tossed into the ocean, pirate. Don’t think I won’t go after your bounty, either, if we meet outside this instance. I’m letting you go now purely for the sake of my grandson.”

“Gramps!” Luffy protested. “Shanks saved me! He’s really cool! He knocked out that s-...”

A hand closed over his mouth, Shanks drawing him back.

“That pirate,” Shanks finished. “The one that took him, and threw him in the water. I took care of him and pulled Luffy out, and that was it. Yeah, kid?”

Luffy blinked, staring at Shanks, before nodding hesitantly. 

Relaxing, Shanks let his hand drop. “Right.” 

“But I think I made a new friend!” Luffy said, grinning up at Garp.

“Luffy!” Shanks hissed.

“Huh? A friend?” Garp asked.

“Yeah!” Luffy said. “The sea king!” 

Garp raised his eyes slowly to Shanks, one twitching, face inching closer to dangerous. “The  _ what?” _

Luffy faltered. 

Oh. So that’s why Shanks had covered his mouth. 

“Oops,” Luffy said. Then, a thought occurred to him, he tipped his head, asking, “Hey, why can’t I swim, if I’m a fish?”

Shanks latched onto the subject change as a life raft. “The devil fruit!” he said. “You won’t ever be able to swim. Moving underwater at all will probably be a struggle. You just won’t drown, due to having fish gills.” 

“So I could sit at the bottom of the ocean?” Luffy asked. 

“No!”

“Why not?” Luffy whined, looking at his granddad in betrayal. “It was so cool down there!”

“Stay out of the damn ocean!” Garp snapped at him. “Geez. I need to find you some friends or something. This pirate is rubbing off on you too much.”

Shanks laughed. “I’m headed out soon, I promise.” 

Luffy turned wide, wounded eyes on him. “You are?!”

“Yeah, buddy,” Shanks confirmed. “Sad?”

Luffy tipped his chin up, determined. “I won’t be!” he said. “I’m still too little, but I’m not scared of the water, now! I’ll get older, and stronger, and I’ll come after you! I’ll go right past you, too! I’ll be the strongest pirate on the sea!” 

“Wait a minute, now-...” Garp started to protest. 

Luffy ignored him completely, puffing up to his full height. “I’m gonna be the pirate king!” he declared firmly. “You just watch!” 

Shanks stared, a long moment passing, before his lips twitched up in a small smile. 

“That so, huh?” He asked. He reached up, plucking his hat off his head, and held it out, settling it on Luffy’s head. “I’ll see you then, kid. We’ll meet again, some day- on the water, this time.”

  
  
  


_ Man, my luck.  _

Luffy stretched out, feeling his fans spread, catching the gentle flow of the seawater.

_ A whirlpool, right off the bat.  _ He’d only  _ just  _ set out on his adventure, and his boat had already been trashed. 

_ This is good, though,  _ he thought, breaking the surface of the water for a moment to get a clearer look at the ship he’d been tailing. 

It was a pirate ship, for sure, even if he couldn’t see the front of the flag to check. It wasn’t a white sail, and there were canons on the ship - no way it  _ wasn’t  _ pirates. 

_ Maybe they know Ace!  _ Luffy thought, before immediately shaking off the thought. 

“Stupid,” he insulted himself out loud, tipping his head back, so that all but a small portion of his face was below water. He enjoyed the effect it had on the sound of his voice, the vibrations of noises below water hitting him bone-deep at the same time his still-human ears picked up the bit of proper sound that was able to break through. “Three years is way too long...no way he’s still this close. He’s probably a super strong pirate by now…Hm?”

He picked his head up, watching the railing of the ship.

_ I could’ve sworn I saw… _

There. At the edge of the ship, leaning over the railing, a child was staring out into the see, eyes wide and terrified. 

_ What’s he see?  _ Luffy wondered.

The boy jerked back, stumbling back a step, then another, the angle blocking him from sight almost immediately - but not keeping Luffy from hearing the boy yell, “There’s a fish-person in the water!”

“Oh!” Luffy said, looking wildly around in the water. “A fish-person? Out here?” 

A sound like a canon shot echoed, and Luffy looked up, watching as a black ball separated out into a dark, thick rope net, spreading as it headed straight for him.

_ Oh,  _ he realized.

_ They meant me.  _


End file.
